scoopstories (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} scoopstories) wrote,@ 2008-09-09 23:42:00 |
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Juno - Review oh and memoirs and jamaica mon
I wrote my most thorough account of my student teaching days
http://sbutki.newsvine.com/_news/2008/0
and i'm chronicling how I became a writer in the first place
http://sbutki.newsvine.com/_news/2008/0
and i'm going on a cruise to jamaica and am going to give up newsvine and my computer for a week
http://sbutki.newsvine.com/_news/2008/0
meanwhile i'm doing my author interviews and movie review
45th movie reviewed this year:
http://sbutki.newsvine.com/_news/2008/0
45 - Juno - I was supposed to screen this movie at church for a discussion but nobody showed up. Frustrating. The teens didn't want to see it with a-dolts and adults didn't see the appeal. I read before hand the reviews by Roger Ebert and James Berardinelli and both pretty much nailed it. This from Ebert sums it up:
Jason Reitman's "Juno" is just about the best movie of the year. It is very smart, very funny and very touching; it begins with the pacing of a screwball comedy and ends as a portrait of characters we have come to love. Strange, how during Juno's hip dialogue and cocky bravado, we begin to understand the young woman inside, and we want to hug her. Has there been a better performance this year than Ellen Page's creation of Juno? I don't think so. If most actors agree that comedy is harder than drama, then harder still is comedy depending on a quick mind, utter self-confidence, and an ability to stop just short of going too far. Page's presence and timing are extraordinary. I have seen her in only two films, she is only 20, and I think she will be one of the great actors of her time. But don't let my praise get in the way of sharing how much fun this movie is. It is so very rare to sit with an audience that leans forward with delight and is in step with every turn and surprise of an uncommonly intelligent screenplay. It is so rare to hear laughter that is surprised, unexpected and delighted. So rare to hear it coming during moments of recognition, when characters reflect exactly what we'd be thinking, just a moment before we get around to thinking it. So rare to feel the audience joined into one warm, shared enjoyment. So rare to hear a movie applauded.
I also read the comments about it at Wikipedia and was encouraged by this comment: :
The film has also received criticism from members of both the pro-life and pro-choice communities regarding its confrontation of abortion.
I take that as a good sign. That said I did not see Waitress or Knocked Up (two other movies getting attention for being about teen pregnancy– neither held much interest or appeal for me. The movie is by Jason Reitman. I loved his adaptation of Thank You For Smoking (link to Buckley) I highly recommend this movie and am kicking myself for not seeing it earlier. The extras are cool - the deleted scenes add some context and the commentary is interesting. Besides any movie with Belle and Sebastian can't be all bad. I'll end this mini-review with this exchange:
Punk Receptionist: Would you like a free condom? They're boysenberry. Juno MacGuff: No, thanks. I'm off sex right now. Punk Receptionist: My boyfriend wears them every time we have intercourse, it makes his junk smell like pie.
and this one:
Juno MacGuff: Ow, ow, fuckity-ow! Bren, when do I get that spinal tap thing? Bren: It's called a spinal block. And you can't have it yet, honey. The doctor said you're not dilated enough. Juno MacGuff: You mean I have to wait for it to get worse? Why can't they just give it to me now? Bren: Well, honey, doctors are sadists who like to play God and watch lesser people scream... [Juno lets out painful scream, Brenda checks her watch] Bren: Shit. [to doctor] Bren: Hey, can we get my kid the damn spinal tap already?
.
I wrote my most thorough account of my student teaching days
http://sbutki.newsvine.com/_news/2008/0
and i'm chronicling how I became a writer in the first place
http://sbutki.newsvine.com/_news/2008/0
and i'm going on a cruise to jamaica and am going to give up newsvine and my computer for a week
http://sbutki.newsvine.com/_news/2008/0
meanwhile i'm doing my author interviews and movie review
45th movie reviewed this year:
http://sbutki.newsvine.com/_news/2008/0
45 - Juno - I was supposed to screen this movie at church for a discussion but nobody showed up. Frustrating. The teens didn't want to see it with a-dolts and adults didn't see the appeal. I read before hand the reviews by Roger Ebert and James Berardinelli and both pretty much nailed it. This from Ebert sums it up:
Jason Reitman's "Juno" is just about the best movie of the year. It is very smart, very funny and very touching; it begins with the pacing of a screwball comedy and ends as a portrait of characters we have come to love. Strange, how during Juno's hip dialogue and cocky bravado, we begin to understand the young woman inside, and we want to hug her. Has there been a better performance this year than Ellen Page's creation of Juno? I don't think so. If most actors agree that comedy is harder than drama, then harder still is comedy depending on a quick mind, utter self-confidence, and an ability to stop just short of going too far. Page's presence and timing are extraordinary. I have seen her in only two films, she is only 20, and I think she will be one of the great actors of her time. But don't let my praise get in the way of sharing how much fun this movie is. It is so very rare to sit with an audience that leans forward with delight and is in step with every turn and surprise of an uncommonly intelligent screenplay. It is so rare to hear laughter that is surprised, unexpected and delighted. So rare to hear it coming during moments of recognition, when characters reflect exactly what we'd be thinking, just a moment before we get around to thinking it. So rare to feel the audience joined into one warm, shared enjoyment. So rare to hear a movie applauded.
I also read the comments about it at Wikipedia and was encouraged by this comment: :
The film has also received criticism from members of both the pro-life and pro-choice communities regarding its confrontation of abortion.
I take that as a good sign. That said I did not see Waitress or Knocked Up (two other movies getting attention for being about teen pregnancy– neither held much interest or appeal for me. The movie is by Jason Reitman. I loved his adaptation of Thank You For Smoking (link to Buckley) I highly recommend this movie and am kicking myself for not seeing it earlier. The extras are cool - the deleted scenes add some context and the commentary is interesting. Besides any movie with Belle and Sebastian can't be all bad. I'll end this mini-review with this exchange:
Punk Receptionist: Would you like a free condom? They're boysenberry. Juno MacGuff: No, thanks. I'm off sex right now. Punk Receptionist: My boyfriend wears them every time we have intercourse, it makes his junk smell like pie.
and this one:
Juno MacGuff: Ow, ow, fuckity-ow! Bren, when do I get that spinal tap thing? Bren: It's called a spinal block. And you can't have it yet, honey. The doctor said you're not dilated enough. Juno MacGuff: You mean I have to wait for it to get worse? Why can't they just give it to me now? Bren: Well, honey, doctors are sadists who like to play God and watch lesser people scream... [Juno lets out painful scream, Brenda checks her watch] Bren: Shit. [to doctor] Bren: Hey, can we get my kid the damn spinal tap already?
.
